Recent public concerns about the quality of telecommunications services in certain regions of the country have been noted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The Commission acknowledges the annoyance consumers feel when calls are dropped, internet speeds slow down, data services become erratic, or service interruptions interfere with day-to-day activities. Nigerians now rely heavily on telecommunications services to work, learn, conduct business, access necessary services, and maintain connections. As a result, customers have a right to dependable service and must get value for their money.
Enhancing Quality of Service has been the Commission’s top regulatory priority for the last two years. In order to address structural barriers that impact service delivery, the NCC has strengthened data-driven oversight, increased engagement with pertinent public institutions, and increased monitoring of Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers, and Tower Companies. These actions are meant to guarantee that the sector advances toward quantifiable gains.
After a protracted period of underinvestment, the industry is currently going through one of its largest cycles of network expansion and modernization in recent memory. Tower companies contributed an additional N373.8 billion to the industry in 2025, while mobile network operators invested more than N2.13 trillion in network infrastructure and upgrades. Over 2,800 telecom sites were added and upgraded nationwide thanks to these investments, which also filled capacity and coverage gaps in a number of places.
Faster 4G and 5G layers on current sites, increased fiber backhaul to increase site capacity and resilience, targeted deployments in high-demand urban areas, rollout into underserved communities, and general network equipment refresh are some of the interventions. Although the Commission welcomes these investments, it is expected that they will result in observable and quantifiable improvements to consumer services.
In response to Nigeria’s rapidly changing digital ecosystem and the exponential rise in data consumption, this expansion drive will continue in 2026. Nearly 3,000 of the more than 12,000 sites that the NCC has secured industry commitments for this year have already been delivered. With more than 730 new 5G sites installed in 27 states as of 2026, the rollout of next-generation infrastructure is also quickening.
Additionally, in accordance with its Spectrum Trading Guidelines, the Commission has made it easier for the three main mobile network operators to reallocate the majority of idle and underutilized valuable radio spectrum. It has also rearranged spectrum blocks to give operators contiguity. The goals of these interventions are to enhance service performance, network capacity, and spectral efficiency.
Network capacity, coverage, and average data download speeds have gradually improved throughout the nation, according to the Commission’s Quality of Service and Quality of Experience assessments, which are carried out using crowdsourced and field-based analytics. National median download speeds have increased from 16.5Mbps to 20Mbps during the same period as subscribers continue to switch to faster 4G networks, with 4G penetration rising from 45% in January 2024 to 54% currently. Additionally, telecom tower power availability has increased from a national average of 99.3% in January 2025 to 99.7% at present.
In areas where recent upgrades and new site deployments have been finished, these improvements are most noticeable. The Commission is equally clear, though, that improvements must be made more quickly and consistently, especially in areas where customers still have to deal with poor call quality, slow data speeds, congestion, and unreliable service.
The Commission is also in the advanced stages of conducting a market study to create a wholesale market segment in accordance with government policy to increase fiber penetration to homes, businesses, schools, and public institutions. Smaller and more regional ISPs will be able to increase service penetration and provide internet services more affordably as a result. This strengthens Nigeria’s national digital infrastructure and supports government-backed programs like Project BRIDGE.
The Commission is also tackling enduring external risks that still have an impact on network performance, such as frequent fiber cuts, theft at network locations, vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure, power-related disruptions, and denial of access for operations and maintenance.
Alone, over 27,000 avoidable fiber-cut incidents, primarily linked to road construction and vandalism, were recorded nationwide. Each incident has a direct impact on network performance, service availability, and consumer experience. The commission is working closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other stakeholders to operationalize the presidential order on critical national information infrastructure. Through this collaboration, organized syndicates involved in the theft and resale of telecom equipment have been disrupted, while engagement with federal and state ministries of works is putting in place a governance mechanism to reduce avoidable fiber cuts arising from road construction.
To improve transparency, the Commission has mandated operators to provide timely notifications to consumers whenever there is a major service outage and to restore affected services within defined timeframes. Details of major incidents commissioned are logged on the Majorrting Portal at the time of the incident.
All important participants in the Quality of Service value chain are still held responsible by the NCC. Mobile network operators and tower companies were given a specific transition period to order, ship, and install necessary equipment across the country in order to improve service quality under the revised Quality of Service Regulations 2024, which were gazetted in July 2024. There was no end to that period of transition.
In November 2025, the Commission started enforcing the rules, which included additional investment obligations for tower companies where performance failures were found and consumer compensation measures for subpar service quality.
This enforcement will continue, and the Commission will take appropriate regulatory action, including escalation when needed, if operators fail to produce quantifiable improvements.
The National Assembly, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, and other important stakeholders are commended by the NCC for their ongoing support of the Commission’s regulatory mandate. Simultaneously, the Commission reaffirms that a whole-of-society approach is necessary to address the fundamental issues affecting quality of service.
Therefore, we urge all parties involved—federal, state, and local governments as well as host communities—to support initiatives meant to safeguard telecommunications infrastructure, enable prompt access for maintenance, and foster an atmosphere that encourages long-term investment in the industry.
The NCC is steadfast in its resolve to guarantee that every Nigerian has access to dependable, reasonably priced, and superior telecommunications services. The Commission will continue to enforce compliance in the interest of consumers and the broader economy, and the industry must now produce quantifiable improvements. To achieve these goals, collaboration between government entities, industry stakeholders, and consumers is essential. By fostering an environment of transparency and accountability, the NCC aims to drive innovation and enhance service delivery across the telecommunications sector.
